SECURE COUNSELING CLINIC
in the historic Library District, Downtown
Where is the Library District?
We do love BOOKS!
Downtown has been gaining vibrancy and energy for many years. Our Downtown Location is nestled in a beautiful brownstone above several locally-owned restaurants and shops.
The Library District is named for the massive Kansas City Central Library on 8th/Baltimore. This is one of the oldest areas of beautiful KC and is also sometimes referred to a the Historic 9th Street District, and our office is on "9th Street"! This tiny section of town is populated by mom and pop restaurants, a 100+ year old deli, coffee shops and bakeries on street level. Loft dwellers walk their dogs on the beautiful, clean sidewalks.
The KC Streetcar is one block east on Main Street. It will take you for a ride into the River Market, where there are amazing world cuisine restaurants, antique stores, Steamboat Arabia, Farmers Market and Art Garden KC, among many boutique shops and Kansas City secrets. It's a great place to spend the day thinking before or after a therapy session.
Secure is located on the 4th floor of the historic Bunker Building.
There is a family-owned Tex-Mex restaurant inside the lobby of the building called Wrap It Up that is open for breakfast and lunch!
The Library Parking garage is decorated as a building-sized bookshelf!
Don't worry about parking! We have ample free street parking at both building entrances and designated spots for our clients in the building's lot.
The historic Kansas City Central Library is one block south of Secure Counseling offices. The hip and fun River Market in just three blocks north, and a KC Streetcar ride!
Our Building:
The Historic Bunker Building
Our downtown locations looks out iconic Kansas City - brownstones from 1860-1880 with bakeries, delis, coffee shops and mom & pop restaurants on the street level.
Just one block north of the massive Kansas City Central Library, walk-and-talk sessions are fun when the weather is lovely.
This office features three therapy rooms (each with 10 foot windows letting in natural light, an art room, and large library-like waiting room where you can drink coffee, tea or hot cocoa and sit quietly as long as you like before and after your sessions.
We have spaces and treatment modalities for children, teens and adults, as well as an often-visiting psychiatric support dog - Rontu.
Parking and Building Access
Parking:
Our building is situated on a corner (9th/Baltimore). There are TWO entrances to the elevator lobby!
Anytime:
Two-hour free street parking is available on Baltimore just outside the entrance of 820 Baltimore, as well as on 9th Street (104 West 9th Street) where there is also an entrance to the building elevator lobby. You will see Milwaukee Delicatessen and Banksie Australian Bakery across the street from our 9th Street entrance.
Reserved Client Spot:
We have a reserved spot for clients. It is a little further away from the entrances, but particularly helpful if you will be with us for more than two hours. It is on the lower tier at 8th/Baltimore where you see a large while garage panel entrance with “800” on it. It’s well-marked (“Secure Counseling Clinic Clients Only”), and you can park in any of those spots, then walk south on Baltimore to the 820 Baltimore door.
Entrance:
There are TWO entrances to the lobby:
104 West 9th Street
or
820 Baltimore Avenue
After 5pm and on weekends, the building is locked for safety, and you can enter through the door on 820 Baltimore ONLY. There is a keypad on the left side, and the code is shared privately after appointments are scheduled … it will only change quarterly, so you will use this code until given a new one. When you enter the building on Baltimore Avenue, you'll go up a short flight of stairs, pass a small family-owned restaurant (Wrap It Up) on the left, and the elevators will be around the corner to the left.
If you enter the 9th Street doors, you will see a large eagle statue, followed by elevators. The 104 West 9th Street does not have coded entry.
Secure is on the 4th floor with a beautiful view! Our office is immediately to the left when you leave the elevator. We are in Suite 400A, and there’s a sign on the left side of the doors.
Restrooms and water fountain are to the right of the elevators around the corner, down the hall.
We are still in the "moving in" phase, so you'll find. that our waiting room is ready for you, but needs a bit of furniture! We'll be using the next 4-6 weeks to prepare for many wonderful private practice and philanthropic community services in 2024. Our practice will be welcoming young children and teens for classes, support groups for adults, and will begin training new counselors from local universities.
When you enter, you'll see coffee and hot chocolate service on the left side of the waiting room and seating. Please make yourself at home, and I'll be with you as soon as I can!
Planning to visit the Library before/after therapy?
You might find your therapist there too!!
Here's the library website. The library is open Monday-Wednesday 9am-7pm, Thursday-Saturday 9am-5pm, and Sunday 1pm-5pm. Get a library card here! Anyone can have one, no matter where you live - and it's free!
If you are visiting the library before or after your therapy session, the KC Central Library will validate parking. The Library parking garage entrance is located on Baltimore just north of 8th street (one block south of our Secure Counseling offices). The walk from the Library garage to our office building is picturesque, with a coffee shop (Mildred's) and historic deli (Milkwaukee Delicatessen) along the way! The Library offers patrons one hour of free parking; there are two ticket validation machines on the first floor of the Central Library (at the Information Desk in the Main Foyer and at the Main Customer Service Desk). On weekends, validations at the one-hour machines will cover the entire time that the Central Library is open (Saturdays 9am-5pm, Sundays 1pm-5pm)!
Planning to visit the River Market or ride the KC Streetcar before/after therapy?
The KC Streetcar system also has parking lots if you plan to spend the day enjoying the sites. During the weekends, there is FREE parking at the 7th & Main parking lots adjacent to the North Loop streetcar stops at 601 Main and 711 Main St. These three lots include signage for easy identification and provide at least 150 FREE parking spaces. Anyone traveling downtown during the weekends can utilize these lots.
Click maps for PDFs!
Meet Rontu
Our Downtown location offers animal-assisted therapy! Our affectionate office pup Rontu is almost 7 years old. He is a certified Psychiatric Support Animal, and his part-time presence in the clinic is for clients who need emotional connection that sometimes can be difficult to find with other humans because of trauma, social anxiety, intense emotions or avoidance of connection with people. Sometimes animals can reach people in special ways. Rontu is an Australian Shepherd/Poodle mix, hypoallergenic, and does not shed. He's good for cuddles or just to be a quiet presence in the room. And of course, he's a sucker for kids and teens. Rontu has a kitchen/break room he can take naps and bake cookies in if a client prefers their session not be heard by doggie ears, but we promise: Rontu is a great listener.
What does it look like in there?
We are all about preserving Kansas City history. Pics of our beautiful new space are coming soon!
